Depends on circumstances.... I went with SATA DVD burner in my rig, because in the Shuttle Small Form Factor case, space is a premium, and SATA plugs are CONSIDERABLY smaller and easier to work with than IDE.

There really isn't much difference that I have noticed between them, aside from the fact that there are more IDE models available than SATA. The prices aren't even that much different. There are a few SATA drives available under $45.

The only real reason right now to opt for a SATA DVD-Drive is mainly for space and to eliminate using IDE. Other than that, you aren't going to see any performance gain due to the limitations of the DVD-Drive itself.